The cultivator, a triumphant expression on his face, walked to the center of the group and clasped his fists to greet everyone. "I'm Li Aojian, seventh level Qi Refining Realm."
As the most accomplished casual cultivator here, he was certainly proud.
With that, he trembled his longsword, a sound like a dragon's roar.
He unleashed his swordsmanship, and the moves "Desert Smoke" and "Horse Drinking from the Ice River" wowed everyone.
"It's absolutely perfect!" "
It's exactly like the illustration!"
"Don't worry, there's also "Falling Geese on the Plain Sands," which I'm sure you won't be able to do."
Hearing the others' doubts, Li Aojian glared coldly and suddenly leaped up, his body abruptly closing in midair until his head and feet almost touched.
"How can you pull off such a bizarre pose?"
"It's the same as the illustration, but what about the sword? How can it possibly come out from behind?"
The crowd pointed and murmured.
Li Aojian snorted softly, and a flash of sword light suddenly flashed from behind him, gracefully tracing a semicircle. He then unfurled his body and landed firmly on the ground.
"Damn, he actually did it!"
"That sword light isn't the sword itself, it's the sword beam, emanating from the hilt."
"To think of that, he's incredibly insightful!"
"He's probably practiced sword techniques before. Alas, I'm afraid I can't even learn them even if I try."
Everyone exclaimed in amazement, casting envious glances at the cultivator. This man would definitely pass the test.
Li Aojian sheathed his sword, clasped his fists, and looked at Yun Li expectantly.
Yun Li nodded slightly, "Average, next one."
Li Aojian was stunned. He'd painstakingly displayed his swordsmanship, and only received an average review. Worse than that black man who hadn't done anything?
He cursed silently, "This Heyin School isn't much better. A pearl thrown in the dark." He swallowed the blood that threatened to spit, put down his sword in disappointment, and stepped aside.
The cultivators behind him had clearly gained some inspiration, using sword beams to simulate sword moves they couldn't achieve, leaving Yun Li shaking his head.
"Last one,"
he nodded at Zhou Shu, who was not far away.
Zhou Shu approached slowly, bowed, and then picked up his longsword. With
the longsword in hand, his demeanor shifted. His usual calm demeanor vanished, and he became like a sword unsheathed, his aura so intimidating it was hard to even look directly at him.
Many noticed this change, "A bit strange."
"He waited until last, maybe this guy has some real skills."
Yun Li couldn't help but nod in approval. Zhou Shu's initial swordplay was truly unique, as if he had been immersed in the art of swordsmanship for decades.
In reality, Zhou Shu was imitating Liu Yuze. He had watched Liu Yuze practice so much, and through constantly deducing the Shattered Jade Sword Technique that Liu Yuze had cultivated, he had unwittingly developed a similar feeling.
Zhou Shu raised his sword and slashed forward, then thrust it upwards and thrust again, then sheathed his sword and bowed, "It's over."
"It's over? Is he kidding me?"
"You call this swordsmanship?"
"One cut, one thrust, and one thrust, that's three moves... This kid doesn't know anything! I thought he was so powerful."
The cultivators who had been expecting something immediately erupted in shock.
Sun Hedao and Yun Li, who were standing opposite Zhou Shu, were stunned.
Sun Hedao, in particular, stared wide-eyed, unable to believe his eyes.
Yun Li sighed softly, revealing a rare smile, "I didn't expect such talent among the casual cultivators. He's fully grasped the essence of swordsmanship in just half an hour."
As soon as these words came out, the surrounding casual cultivators were even more shocked.
"What? He's considered an essence, then why are we training so hard with swords?"
"That's not right. Do you know this guy and let him pass on purpose?"
"That's simply an insult to swordsmen!"
Li Aojian was filled with righteous indignation, his eyes blazing, and he wanted to rush over and knock Zhou Shu over.
Zhou Shu nodded, put down his sword, and returned to his original position silently.
"Wait, what's your name?"
Zhou Shu bowed, "Senior Brother Yun, my name is Zhou Shu."
"Zhou Shu? Are you Zhou Shu?"
Yun Li was stunned for a moment, and after a moment's scrutiny, he turned back to look at Sun Hedao, his eyes full of confusion, as if to say, "Junior Brother, didn't you say his aptitude was extremely low?"
"Unexpected, unexpected, he just took his chances."
Sun Hedao quickly turned his head, cursing Zhou Shu again in his heart with hatred, "What's going on? He could have mastered three sword techniques to this degree in just half an hour. Did someone teach him? No, the three sword techniques are changed every time new members are recruited. Could it be that he really has a good understanding?"
Yun Li shook his head, turned around, and had a different opinion of Zhou Shu in front of him.
"Everyone, be quiet, and stop talking nonsense."
Yun Li glanced at the wandering cultivators around him, "I will announce the result of the first round."
The wandering cultivators quickly fell silent and pricked up their ears.
"Zhou Shu, Class A, Zhu Dashan, Class B, Li Aojian, Class C, and the rest of the cultivators, Class D."
Almost all the cultivators gave up and started arguing loudly.
"Huh?"
"Why?"
"I'm so powerful, but I'm actually worse than someone who has done nothing. This is unreasonable!"
Li Aojian shouted the loudest.
"If you want reason, I'll give it to you."
Yun Li glanced at the casual cultivators and said in a serious tone, "I've made it very clear. I gave you the sword technique so that you could understand and comprehend it. But most of you only know how to copy and imitate it mechanically, even forcing yourself to perform movements that you can't even perform in the manual. Have you never considered the inner meaning of the sword technique? You spent half an hour thinking about how to copy it better. You're only giving us a D-rank. You don't need any other reason."
"Giving us this, doesn't it mean we should just copy it and do something else? That doesn't make sense."
Some people continued to stubbornly argue, while others silently pondered. When Yun Li distributed the sword technique, he did say that it required comprehension, but they had fallen into a misunderstanding.
"Li Aojian used sword techniques to simulate an impossible sword technique. He thought a little more than most people and was indeed clever, but he was still stuck in the pattern of copying. He also put the cart before the horse, using sword techniques to complement the sword technique. Therefore, he can only be given a C-rank."
Li Aojian froze in place, his eyes red.
"As for Zhu Dashan, he knew he couldn't perform his swordsmanship, so he explained it directly and without forcing it. This simple heart is quite valuable in sword cultivation, so I give him Grade B."
Zhu Dashan grinned, delighted.
"As for Zhou Shu, he truly grasped the essence of swordsmanship, and he deserves Grade A. These three sword techniques, eliminating the false and retaining the true, are essentially a matter of cutting, picking, and stabbing. They may seem simple and ordinary, but without a strong understanding, they are difficult to understand. You should think about it more carefully."
Before speaking, Yun Li turned back to look at Sun Hedao.
Sun Hedao seemed to have some prejudice against Zhou Shu, but it was hard to say. There were still two more tests to determine whether Zhou Shu was truly as he claimed.
Zhou Shu suddenly asked, "Is there a better answer above Grade A?"
Yun Li nodded. "Beyond Grade A, there's also Special Grade, but we in the Heyin School have yet to encounter a cultivator with such understanding."
Zhou Shu nodded thoughtfully and retreated to his seat.
Yun Li looked at the independent cultivators and said loudly, "There's no need to be proud of those who achieved A-level. This doesn't mean you've already entered the ranks. And there's no need to be discouraged for those who achieved D-level. You still have a chance. We in the Heyin Sect select cultivators based on their scores in the three stages. Now, I'll give you a quarter of an hour to rest, and then we'll proceed to the second stage."